lauantai 27. huhtikuuta 2013

Out of my comfort zone - what a wonderful thing!


Here it is at last, 3rd Reveal of the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party, hosted by the gifted Lori Anderson. The reveal has been postponed because Lori has been ill; hope she is feeling better by now.

As you might remember, we sent Bead soups to each other and made something of the soup we received. My package came from Karin King in Calgary, Canada. Karin is a lampwork artist and she sent me a lovely package of beads and findings in golden shades. See her creations here: http://maverickbeads.blogspot.fi/

As lovely as Karin´s beads were, the colour gold was something of a shock to me as I am out of my comfort zone there.

This is the bead soup I received:




To my amazement, I came to love the colour when working with these beads. I managed to use quite a few of them, even with my wrist in a splint most of the time.



The first set uses the lovely clay connectors from Karin, for an asymmetric short necklace and a bracelet. I added chalcedony, pastel blue lampwork beads and a copper-plated clasp from my own stash. The short piece of leaf chain was purchased from New York. The colour is gunmetal, just like the Artistic Wire used to make the connections.
Doesn´t baby blue make a lovely combination with brown?

For the bracelet I used the same materials, adding a lovely cloisonne bead from Karin and the smaller of the clasps she sent me.


Love this leaf chain! 



The centerpiece of my second set is the lovely big toggle clasp from Karin. For the first time in months I did some metalwork and created a bracelet. I did saw a piece from bronze sheet, hammered it a bit, finished the edges with a file and hammered it again to fit a wrist comfortably. I do not own a bracelet mandrel but a rolling pin made of marble is an excellent substitute. I connected the pieces with leaf chain in gold colour and added some crystals from Karin. They look a bit like grapes, do they not? The crystals a lovely purple colour with golden tones.




By far the most beautiful clasp I ever worked with!




















The golden leaf chain was an easy choice for the earrings as well.





My last piece took ages to make because I kept changing my mind all the time. I absolutely wanted to use the lovely lampwork beads made by Karin herself but could not figure out a good way for that. I can´t say I am completely happy with what I created but here it is anyway.

The lampwork beads have been wrapped with bronze wire, like are a couple of crystal beads, also from Karin. These beads are a bit larger than the ones used in the previous set. I also stringed some of the crystal beads with the glass pearls from Karin, for the back part of the necklace. There are still a few beads left fot a bracelet and a pair of earrings but I did not have the time to finish these.


The large lampwork bead is made by Karin. It does have beautiful purple undertones which do not show well in the photograph




That´s all, folks!  Greetings from Miss Tweety, our beloved Tyyne the Clumber Spaniel.


Here she is, after winning a CAC and Best of breed in a local show.




40 kommenttia:

  1. Amazing work! I think the metal bracelet/bangle is probably my favourite but it is tough to choose. Can't believe you created such beautiful pieces with your hand in a splint!

    VastaaPoista
  2. Wonderfull job Penny! I love all the pieces, especially the color combination of pastel blue and dark brown, and the `gold´ bracelet is beautifull.

    VastaaPoista
  3. Oh my! Lovely sets! Bracelets are my favourites, I cannot choose which I prefer. Humm... to my astonishment the 'golden' one :-D

    Sininen lisä eka setissä on todella herkullinen! Silti suosikikseni nousee tuo messinkinen rannekoru, kyllä, ihmettelen itsekin!

    Hienoa työtä, Merja!

    VastaaPoista
  4. Beautiful work! Especially for having your wrist in a splint! The bracelets are especially amazing.

    VastaaPoista
  5. You may have been out of your comfort zone but you did an amazing job. Your pieces sing! I love the way you balanced the gold with the blue.

    VastaaPoista
  6. You are right baby blue and brown is a great combination.Your wire wrapping is amazing!!Lovely Lovely

    VastaaPoista
  7. Love your designs, each piece is amazing! Lovely!!

    VastaaPoista
  8. Kylläpä kyllä, aivan mahtavia väriyhdistelmiä! Suosikkini taitaa olla viimeinen (siis kaulakoru, ei koira... vaikka söpö sekin on, terkkuja Tyynelle!).

    VastaaPoista
  9. Everything looks great. I find warmer, earthier tones a challenge too but you managed to bring in blues and still make everything look beautiful.

    VastaaPoista
  10. Lovely, lovely work! The necklaces are especially stunning! And your pup is adorable! :)

    VastaaPoista
  11. Aivan mahtavia koruja olet tehnyt jälleen :)

    VastaaPoista
  12. Your creations are divine! Love the blue and brown combo of the first necklace/bracelet set. I'll have to try that colour combo soon - too pretty!

    VastaaPoista
  13. upeita koruja kaikki :) vaikea valita yhtä suosikkia kun kaikki ovat niin onnistuneita :)) minäkin tykkään kovasti tuosta baby bluen ja tumman ruskean yhdistelmästä, ja rannekorut ovat kertakaikkiaan hienot. lehtiketju-korvikset on tosi söpöt, mutta ehkäpä kuitenkin suosikikseni tässä sun ihanaisessa sopassasi pääsee tuo viimeinen kaulakoru :)

    oh my how gorgeous jewelry :) it would be hard to choose just one favourit piece from these, they are so well succeeded i like the combination of baby blue and dark brown, and i think those bracelets are marvellous. your leaf earrings are very cute, but perhaps my favourite in this wonderful soup of yours is the last piece :)

    VastaaPoista
  14. Beautiful work. I like your color combination in your bracelet a lot.

    VastaaPoista
  15. Lovely work - I have been so excited to see what you made, and I am very pleasantly surprised with the outcome! I love the blue with the ceramic discs and the brass bracelet - I'll have to keep those in mind when I create in the future!

    VastaaPoista
  16. All your pieces are lovely. Really like the metal bracelet. And congrats to Miss Tweety for her win.

    VastaaPoista
  17. I love all your pieces, especially the metal bracelet.
    I think the first set has a great color combo!
    ciao dall'Italia

    VastaaPoista
  18. super work with metal! congratulations!

    VastaaPoista
  19. Now I just love the last necklace! It just looks so rich. I am also totally in love with your golden bracelet with that gorgeous clasp.

    VastaaPoista
  20. your bead soup's lovely!!! you did wonderful justice to the golden shades. my favourite is the metalwork and exquisite toggle clasp bracelet!

    VastaaPoista
  21. Great work! I love your designs, especially the bracelets ans the first necklace. Wonderful color cominations!

    VastaaPoista
  22. You managed to create many beautiful pieces, I especially love last necklace

    VastaaPoista
  23. Great designs! Love what you did with all that gold!

    VastaaPoista
  24. All designs are beautiful. My favourite is the first bracelet with the cloisonne bead - I love the combination of the leaf chain and the leaf clasp, it's really beautiful. Have a nice week. Ana

    VastaaPoista
  25. I love all of your creations!That leafy chain adds a lovely touch to your pieces and the pale blue and brown is a great colour combination. Great job with the metal bracelet....it's beautiful!

    VastaaPoista
  26. Aivan upeita! Pastellit on ihania ruskean kanssa, mutta mun sydämen vei tosissaan molemmat kullansävyiset korut. Teit todellakin oikeutta kauniille lukolle <3

    VastaaPoista
  27. Beautiful, beautiful pieces, just gorgeous.

    VastaaPoista
  28. Wonderful designs! I love that cuff!

    VastaaPoista
  29. Gorgeous creations, Merja! I like the blue set very much - the blue and the brown, just yummy!

    VastaaPoista
  30. Love your use of colour - very pretty pieces indeed, plus cute doggie too.

    VastaaPoista
  31. Mielettömän kauniita koruja! Suosikkejani ovat ehdottomasti rannekoru ja alin kaulakoru. Todella lahjakkaasti tehtyjä taideteoksia.
    Toivon myös sinulle hyvää tulevaisuutta myös kansainvälisesti.

    VastaaPoista
  32. Merja all of your jewelry is lovely. You did a good job using your soup. My favorite is the first necklace.

    VastaaPoista
  33. Your pieces are really lovely. So great you worked out of your comfort zone. Nice job!

    VastaaPoista
  34. Beautiful work. I really love the last necklace particularly.

    VastaaPoista
  35. I can't decide whether the cuff or the lampwork necklace is my favourite. Well done!

    VastaaPoista
  36. You really did a great job stepping out of your comfort zone! I adore that cuff bracelet you made with the metal. Thanks for the tip about the rolling pin! I love the way you paired the leafy chain and crystal beads together. It looks wonderful. All of your pieces are wonderful, really!

    VastaaPoista
  37. I love the pastel blue and brown together - great pieces, your bracelet is fabulous and your lampwork necklace is lovely!!

    VastaaPoista

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